September is National Food Safety Month: The Future of Food Safety
Each September we recognize the importance of food safety every day in our operations by celebrating National Food Safety Month. This year’s theme, The Future of Food Safety, emphasizes the changing environment in which foodservice operates. Each week of September has a unique focus:
- Regulation Changes—Staying compliant with new regulations
- Suppliers—Best practices for receiving food
- Consumers—Responding to new trends and technologies
- Employees—Their role in ensuring food safety
Go to www.foodsafetyfocus.com to download resources related to these four focus areas.
At FoodHandler, we believe that food safety should be the focus in foodservice operations every day. This month our blog presents ideas for creating a positive food safety culture, which we believe forms the foundation for a strong food safety program. We are pleased to provide on-going support for operators through webinars, blogs, signage, logs, and other resources. Let us know how we can support you—
The Future of Food Safety is important for all of us. Do something extra this month to focus on food safety—provide a training session, use a table tent to communicate to customers your concern for food safety—let your imagination run wild!
Was that last 24 Hour “Bug” You Had Really a Foodborne Illness in Disguise?
Within this blog, I have discussed many foodborne pathogens: E. coli, Hepatitis, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter. But we’ve somehow managed to omit Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).
30 Years Later: The Foodborne Illness Outbreak that Changed Food Safety
In January, we hit a major anniversary. One I am betting snuck by many of you – including me! January marked 30 years since the deadly 1993 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants on the west coast. The anniversary wasn’t on any of the major news networks that I recall. It did make it into a few newspapers, at least one or two of the newspapers that are left. It wasn’t until late-February that I realized it.
Does Temperature Really Matter when Washing your Hands?
In January, I reviewed the changes to the 2022 Food Code in my blog (check out Part I and Part II), and one change to the food code that I had mentioned, but didn’t discuss in-depth, was the change that lowered the water temperature a hand sink was required to produce to 85°F, as noted in Section 2-202.12 of the code. This requirement has been in place since the publishing of the 2001 Food Code, which required a water temperature of 100°F. Prior to this, 110°F was required (see the 1999 Food Code). So why the change and does water temperature when washing your hands really matter?
Hand sinks: Often Taken for Granted, but an Essential Part to Effective Hand Hygiene
Late in January, I received a question about hand sinks in a foodservice operation. The question pertained to school staff (teachers and aides) who were using a hand washing sink in the school kitchen. The question came as a matter of who was allowed access to the kitchen to use the sink, but the question itself caused me to go down a rabbit hole of requirements for hand washing sinks in foodservice operations.
